Pioneer Hall Museum is Now OPEN!
May- October
Saturday : 10 am - 4 pm
Sunday : 2 pm - 5 pm
About Us
Pioneer Hall was the second of the buildings of the Pleasant Hill Academy. It was built in 1887 to be used as a dormitory for students. Reverend Benjamin Dodge, the organizer of the school, had already built the Pleasant Hill Academy Building which comprised of classrooms and a chapel for worship. Soon would-be students from all over the area wanted to attend the school, which was started by the American Missionary Association of Boston, MA. After the Civil War, this organization made the commitment to open 500 schools in this country to educate those who could not otherwise afford schooling.
Mrs. Helen Wightman of Pleasant Hill, mother of 11 children, traveled to Boston to ask the A.M.A. to begin a school for impoverished children of the Cumberland Plateau in TN. They, in turn, sent Miss Mary Santley to teach school. She, after teaching a while, suggested to the A.M.A. that the area needed more than a teacher. Rev. Benjamin Dodge and his family were sent to be the founder, and builder of the Pleasant Hill Academy and the pastor of the Pleasant Hill Congregational Church.
With the help of the A.M.A. and some strong work men in the area, the school/church building was built. Then there was a need for a dormitory building to house the many students who applied to attend the school.
However, the A.M.A. refused to help with the building of the dormitory. So "Father Dodge", as he became known, sold his cow for $20 and laid the foundation of Pioneer Hall. Townspeople soon began giving small donations and helping with the construction. When it was finished in 1889, girls were housed on the 3rd floor, while boys lived on the 2nd floor.
Over the years, as the school grew, many more buildings were built as part of the Academy campus, and a great school it was! Pioneer Hall was used for many purposes over time.
In 1947, the Academy closed and the Cumberland County School District purchased the campus on the north side of Main Street. Pioneer Hall was saved because it had been built on the other side of Main Street from the new school site.
In 1975, the Pleasant Hill Historical Society was formed to preserve Pioneer Hall. It is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. In 1981 it was opened as a museum so that people could visit, see rooms as they were once used, learn about the Academy, look at many artifacts, and hear the history of not only the school, but of the medical offshoots of its history and the surrounding area.
2009 saw the beginning of major restorations of Pioneer Hall. The outside was scraped of its many layers of paint, rotten boards and soffits were replaced, while inside several new exhibits were created.
Mrs. Helen Wightman of Pleasant Hill, mother of 11 children, traveled to Boston to ask the A.M.A. to begin a school for impoverished children of the Cumberland Plateau in TN. They, in turn, sent Miss Mary Santley to teach school. She, after teaching a while, suggested to the A.M.A. that the area needed more than a teacher. Rev. Benjamin Dodge and his family were sent to be the founder, and builder of the Pleasant Hill Academy and the pastor of the Pleasant Hill Congregational Church.
With the help of the A.M.A. and some strong work men in the area, the school/church building was built. Then there was a need for a dormitory building to house the many students who applied to attend the school.
However, the A.M.A. refused to help with the building of the dormitory. So "Father Dodge", as he became known, sold his cow for $20 and laid the foundation of Pioneer Hall. Townspeople soon began giving small donations and helping with the construction. When it was finished in 1889, girls were housed on the 3rd floor, while boys lived on the 2nd floor.
Over the years, as the school grew, many more buildings were built as part of the Academy campus, and a great school it was! Pioneer Hall was used for many purposes over time.
In 1947, the Academy closed and the Cumberland County School District purchased the campus on the north side of Main Street. Pioneer Hall was saved because it had been built on the other side of Main Street from the new school site.
In 1975, the Pleasant Hill Historical Society was formed to preserve Pioneer Hall. It is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. In 1981 it was opened as a museum so that people could visit, see rooms as they were once used, learn about the Academy, look at many artifacts, and hear the history of not only the school, but of the medical offshoots of its history and the surrounding area.
2009 saw the beginning of major restorations of Pioneer Hall. The outside was scraped of its many layers of paint, rotten boards and soffits were replaced, while inside several new exhibits were created.